On my way to fastlane. Business degree obsolete?

[Kokaka]

Hi all.
So im on mt way to the fastline wuth my 2.5 year business and we are growing well and things are starting to mature and TIME is getting managed and if I dont SCALE, I only work a few hours a week so I can maintain and study at the same time. Got a great team and have been developing TIME for some time now.
However there is one thing that is bothering me in the back of my mind:
I have no degree and no high value skills to fall back on if the business fail.

I have putten in 3 semesters into medschool and have been struggeling ALOT with the curriculum. Currently on hold for 3 years now while I have been developing the business.

I have been thinking however, I can get accepted to one of the best business universities in europe next year if I choose, and I think this can be really benificial since I have a natural talent for business and entrepreneur.
Now. Is it worth it? Does it help in the real world? I learn alot as a go but this degree thing is nagging me alot.
I see myself starting, running and investing more than being a doctor.
However medicine is fun and I can make some real nice business idea in the med field. And if all else fail, I am a doctor.

Does anyone have some input in this?

 

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[Superfinch]

Hi all.
So im on mt way to the fastline wuth my 2.5 year business and we are growing well and things are starting to mature and TIME is getting managed and if I dont SCALE, I only work a few hours a week so I can maintain and study at the same time. Got a great team and have been developing TIME for some time now.
However there is one thing that is bothering me in the back of my mind:
I have no degree and no high value skills to fall back on if the business fail.

I have putten in 3 semesters into medschool and have been struggeling ALOT with the curriculum. Currently on hold for 3 years now while I have been developing the business.

I have been thinking however, I can get accepted to one of the best business universities in europe next year if I choose, and I think this can be really benificial since I have a natural talent for business and entrepreneur.
Now. Is it worth it? Does it help in the real world? I learn alot as a go but this degree thing is nagging me alot.
I see myself starting, running and investing more than being a doctor.
However medicine is fun and I can make some real nice business idea in the med field. And if all else fail, I am a doctor.

Does anyone have some input in this?

Really depends on you and what you envision for yourself. Some things you can think about is if your business is in the medical field (or related field) and medical school may add value to it. In addition, it also depends on how successful your business at the moment. If your business is going well then there is no need to seek a degree, such as the business degree, as a back-up and you may choose to double down on it. Also I'm confused when you say you have no high value skills. It depends on your business but maybe certain things you've learnt while building your business are potentially high value skills; things such as marketing, sales, copywriting, programming.

Although I don't know much about medical school, speaking as a dental student I'm sure its a full-on degree and so it makes sense that students would need to struggle and study a lot for it. However, the question is really whether you enjoy it enough and want to practice as a doctor in the future, even possibly at the expense of your business. I'm still in dental school because I see myself as and want to become a dental practitioner. Moreover, the personal business I'm pursuing is in this field and benefits from me having exposure to it. It is very important to mention however, that you don't need to be a medical doctor to start a business the the medical field. You don't need any qualifications whatsoever as long as your providing value or a solution to a need. For example if your business provides a service for medical doctors, being a doctor can help you develop the product and potentially add credibility when marketing but it's definitely not needed if the product has enough need. Both the medical and business degree will help you get a slow lane job, but alone won't help your Fastlane endeavors and neither are necessary.

Edit: I noticed when I had a look at your profile, you've posted about your business before which I should've of read before making this post. From what I've read you've got goals and desires for your beauty business. That gives you another frame from which you can look at the decision. Will the medical degree or business degree contribute to your business well enough and in a way that you can't do otherwise without incurring these financial costs and time? If not, does your desire to be a medical doctor or have the business degree at the prestigious university enough for you to consider not focusing on the business full time and your goal completion suffering. I hope this gives you more to think about for your decision.

 

[Kokaka]

Really depends on you and what you envision for yourself. Some things you can think about is if your business is in the medical field (or related field) and medical school may add value to it. In addition, it also depends on how successful your business at the moment. If your business is going well then there is no need to seek a degree, such as the business degree, as a back-up and you may choose to double down on it. Also I'm confused when you say you have no high value skills. It depends on your business but maybe certain things you've learnt while building your business are potentially high value skills; things such as marketing, sales, copywriting, programming.

Although I don't know much about medical school, speaking as a dental student I'm sure its a full-on degree and so it makes sense that students would need to struggle and study a lot for it. However, the question is really whether you enjoy it enough and want to practice as a doctor in the future, even possibly at the expense of your business. I'm still in dental school because I see myself as and want to become a dental practitioner. Moreover, the personal business I'm pursuing is in this field and benefits from me having exposure to it. It is very important to mention however, that you don't need to be a medical doctor to start a business the the medical field. You don't need any qualifications whatsoever as long as your providing value or a solution to a need. For example if your business provides a service for medical doctors, being a doctor can help you develop the product and potentially add credibility when marketing but it's definitely not needed if the product has enough need. Both the medical and business degree will help you get a slow lane job, but alone won't help your Fastlane endeavors and neither are necessary.

Edit: I noticed when I had a look at your profile, you've posted about your business before which I should've of read before making this post. From what I've read you've got goals and desires for your beauty business. That gives you another frame from which you can look at the decision. Will the medical degree or business degree contribute to your business well enough and in a way that you can't do otherwise without incurring these financial costs and time? If not, does your desire to be a medical doctor or have the business degree at the prestigious university enough for you to consider not focusing on the business full time and your goal completion suffering. I hope this gives you more to think about for your decision.

Thanks for a well constructed post and good luck to you in your future endevours aswell.

Business is currently going great and I love this area. However, I have ideas from anything from halal food, bikini brands, fretilizer ideas, real estates so my main goal in life is always going to be business related, more so as an entrepreneur than as a ceo of large company. My business partner who has had multi million business from before has also told me he has never met anyone with more natural business and entrepreneural talent than me so thats fun.
This has made me confused. I have no talent in medicine but alot in business. I am afraid that if I past my next exam who I have struggled with for years that I will struggle with the next one aswell. However the one Im stuck at is the hardest in the curriculum.
However with business, I think I would pass the program rather easy. And I think that with some teoretical knowledge together with what I know now, I think I can make some really good thing happen because my end goal would be building, obtaining and improving business before selling them.
However, I am very hesitant to any degree outside of STEM since I have met MBA who drives Uber for a living.
So Im afraid that a business degree, even from a prestegious university would guarantee you any sucess.

Yes its true I have built a ton of high value skills but Im not sure if anyone have a job for someone with my skill assets. Its this that freaks me out sometime. Line Im not getting younger, have recently gotten a small family to support and they all count for this business Idea to work. It also is extra nervous now when there is bankruptcy everywhere I look. However, one if my business is stable and generate cashflow. The other is more volotile so I dont count that one.

I know for a fact that being a doctor is playing life on wasy mode if all else fail and I would not be able to do what I do now where it not for the medicine I have studied before.
You could construct it like this:
Medicine- improved product knowledge
Business- improved operational knowledge.

Currently, I would do what I do now regardless of degree but its just a saftey net. TIME is of no factor if I dont SCALE or SCALE slower so thats not an issue.

Its more if a business degree if worth it since Im not all that sure. However, Im sure someone would think Im crazy for thinking like this. I do believe you dont need it up to a certain point, after that Im not so sure. Like Im working towards having hundreds, maybie even thousands of employees in many countries. Sure, when that time come, I would have sold parts to risk capital businesses who take controll but there is a long way there and sny but of knowledge help.

 

[Parks]

How much are you learning in school that benefits your business right now? I've been following your progress thread from near the start and you definitely have a good ground your building up.

Ultimately it's up to you but I'd view it the same as "the most important book you should be reading is the one that solves your problem". Create a incase of emergency fund while scaling the business.

 

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[amp0193]

I have no degree and no high value skills to fall back on if the business fail.

you've been running the business for 2.5 years.

Assuming it's making you money, then you have skills that could easily get you employed somewhere else.

 

[Kokaka]

How much are you learning in school that benefits your business right now? I've been following your progress thread from near the start and you definitely have a good ground your building up.

Ultimately it's up to you but I'd view it the same as "the most important book you should be reading is the one that solves your problem". Create a incase of emergency fund while scaling the business.

I have been learning a TON from medschool which is the reason why I have been able to do what I have been doing and helped me break ENTRY. However, I dont need to be able to treat patient to be in the med-business but a degree will help me solve problems and get ideas I normally would not get.
And this is the thing. The more I grow, the more demand will be put on the business aspect of things and less on the product since the product is done. Like Im a master hustler but I feel alot of gaps in my knowledge who could help me do better decisions etc.

With this conundrum, I am trying to prepare for problems/possibilities that might/might not happen in the future but also give me a foundation to fall back on and build upon.

So its more a question if I had to choose between Med or business, what would be the most benificial in and outside entrepreneurial endevour.
My fear is that I get a business degree and I get stuck behind a screen somewhere making a moderate salary. Maybie Im wrong since some of the studens at the business university has gone and made billion dollar businesses in a short time.

I also know that being a doctor is the most safe thing there is and open alot of doors to other businesses. Be it AI assisted cancer scanning products or whatever.

All in all, a bit paralysis by analysis since all options are great but its just what to choose.

you've been running the business for 2.5 years.

Assuming it's making you money, then you have skills that could easily get you employed somewhere else.

Yes I do have skills. However, with a degree, I could use those skills, combine with theory and get a better job/career.

 

[journeyman]

I'll start with some well-intended tough love and say that if you are truly on the way to the fastlane with the business, frankly you must be out of your mind to abandon that and go back to med school. Unless one really, really, wants to become a physician and help patients, which is fine, but doesn't sound like the case with you.

To an outsider it sounds like you have already pre-made up your mind that your current business is going to fail. Otherwise, you wouldn't be talking about getting a job and a career. But if you have a partner, and a team, and it's growing, surely things look good for the business, no?

The only people that would tell you that a degree (any degree) is a good idea are your parents or family, who most likely hate volatility and risk.

Degrees mean less and less with every year that goes by. I've spent nearly a decade in university getting 2x degrees and all they have offered me is a reasonably low pressure and moderate income office job. They haven't helped me generate any better ideas. Different ideas than if I hadn't studied, sure. But they've all been similarly unsuccessful.

If I was in a situation where I was able to make some money from a business during uni, I don't think I would have ever finished a degree.

 

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[WJK]

I think I would finish the medical degree and then get the business skills through a personal educational program on the side. Just about all the major business schools have online classes. There are tons of podcasts and books available.

I have 4 college degrees which include my JD (law school) that I earned in my early 40s. When I was young, the only way to get a head was to go to college. Now there are a bunch of ways to skin that cat in most fields. Medicine and law are two of the only fields left where you MUST go to school and get that piece of paper. Today I'd rethink my path.

And if you finish the medical, you don't have to be a practicing doctor. But, you are right. It is a good fallback position if and when the world falls apart. I never became an attorney. I was a RE expert witness and litigation specialist in the Federal and State courts. That was dove-tailed with my RE commercial appraising practice.

Now I'm retired and a professional RE investor. I hung my doctorate at home over my sewing machine in my art studio. I don't have it here in my office. No, it's not very important anymore, but it was sure a big deal when I went and earned it!

 

[Kak]

You know yourself best. For someone that is truly self motivated and will put the work in instead of other stuff that’s more fun, yes the business degree is obsolete.

I am someone who did get one from a top business school, but I learned more just doing. There’s also no telling how my life would be different if I hadn’t gone. So, who knows.

I came from a family that basically expected formal education. I’m not going to suggest the same to my kids. I’ll hook them up with better resume building learning opportunities.

Education is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.

A place called college with people called professors is not the only way to become a business rockstar.

I’ve worked on this pretty hard:

‎Kyle Keegan Radio Show: Entrepreneurs and School - Ep 227 on Apple Podcasts

‎Show Kyle Keegan Radio Show, Ep Entrepreneurs and School - Ep 227 - Aug 10, 2021

podcasts.apple.com

‎Kyle Keegan Radio Show: Education of The Entrepreneur - Ep 245 on Apple Podcasts

‎Show Kyle Keegan Radio Show, Ep Education of The Entrepreneur - Ep 245 - Oct 5, 2021

podcasts.apple.com

 

[Kokaka]

I'll start with some well-intended tough love and say that if you are truly on the way to the fastlane with the business, frankly you must be out of your mind to abandon that and go back to med school. Unless one really, really, wants to become a physician and help patients, which is fine, but doesn't sound like the case with you.

To an outsider it sounds like you have already pre-made up your mind that your current business is going to fail. Otherwise, you wouldn't be talking about getting a job and a career. But if you have a partner, and a team, and it's growing, surely things look good for the business, no?

The only people that would tell you that a degree (any degree) is a good idea are your parents or family, who most likely hate volatility and risk.

Degrees mean less and less with every year that goes by. I've spent nearly a decade in university getting 2x degrees and all they have offered me is a reasonably low pressure and moderate income office job. They haven't helped me generate any better ideas. Different ideas than if I hadn't studied, sure. But they've all been similarly unsuccessful.

If I was in a situation where I was able to make some money from a business during uni, I don't think I would have ever finished a degree.

Yes, this is what alot of entrepreueurs has told me. Focus on the business.
However, I am trying to have the cake and eat it too since the TIME aspect of the business is being less and less. And as long as Im not expanding at a breakneck pace I do now and slow it down abit and let things mature, I will have a good stream of income, improve CONTROLL and have cracked TIME.
Truth to be told, this is more to have something to do if I where to stop expanging fast since I need to let time pass to let the business mature.

I think I would finish the medical degree and then get the business skills through a personal educational program on the side. Just about all the major business schools have online classes. There are tons of podcasts and books available.

I have 4 college degrees which include my JD (law school) that I earned in my early 40s. When I was young, the only way to get a head was to go to college. Now there are a bunch of ways to skin that cat in most fields. Medicine and law are two of the only fields left where you MUST go to school and get that piece of paper. Today I'd rethink my path.

And if you finish the medical, you don't have to be a practicing doctor. But, you are right. It is a good fallback position if and when the world falls apart. I never became an attorney. I was a RE expert witness and litigation specialist in the Federal and State courts. That was dove-tailed with my RE commercial appraising practice.

Now I'm retired and a professional RE investor. I hung my doctorate at home over my sewing machine in my art studio. I don't have it here in my office. No, it's not very important anymore, but it was sure a big deal when I went and earned it!

This has been my first idea and this strategy is the soundest.
And that STEM and LAW is the only degrees you "need" uni for.

Problem is that I am struggling alot with medicine and on paper, this above is the best strategy. But I am unsire if I will be able to get that degree. I am more wired towards business and law than for medicine. However I am really good in combining business with medicine and I know enough medicine to make business out of it.

Thats why the question of the business degree. If its obsolete even if I where to combine it with the business I do now since I will grow into a multi national enterprice someday.

You know yourself best. For someone that is truly self motivated and will put the work in instead of other stuff that’s more fun, yes the business degree is obsolete.

I am someone who did get one from a top business school, but I learned more just doing. There’s also no telling how my life would be different if I hadn’t gone. So, who knows.

I came from a family that basically expected formal education. I’m not going to suggest the same to my kids. I’ll hook them up with better resume building learning opportunities.

Education is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.

A place called college with people called professors is not the only way to become a business rockstar.

I’ve worked on this pretty hard:

‎Kyle Keegan Radio Show: Entrepreneurs and School - Ep 227 on Apple Podcasts

‎Show Kyle Keegan Radio Show, Ep Entrepreneurs and School - Ep 227 - Aug 10, 2021

podcasts.apple.com

‎Kyle Keegan Radio Show: Education of The Entrepreneur - Ep 245 on Apple Podcasts

‎Show Kyle Keegan Radio Show, Ep Education of The Entrepreneur - Ep 245 - Oct 5, 2021

podcasts.apple.com

This is true. So the question is if its worth a 3 year detour on a high end business school than not.

 

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[Andy Black]

You mention fear a few times and seem to be doing a degree to fallback on.

If you're good at business you're good at solving problems, which is the most hireable skill anyway.

Maybe the 8 minute video in this thread might help:

NOTABLE! - MEETUPS - [TFLF Call Replay] - For teens & students getting started

Hi all. @Lawtiti (who changed his forum name to @Chet Shen) created a Meetup Thread a few days ago and had a Zoom call with @ZCP who gave advice on getting started etc. I offered to do a Zoom where I'll go through some of the main things I think holds people back when getting started, and how...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[Kokaka]

You mention fear a few times and seem to be doing a degree to fallback on.

If you're good at business you're good at solving problems, which is the most hireable skill anyway.

Maybe the 8 minute video in this thread might help:

NOTABLE! - MEETUPS - [TFLF Call Replay] - For teens & students getting started

Hi all. @Lawtiti (who changed his forum name to @Chet Shen) created a Meetup Thread a few days ago and had a Zoom call with @ZCP who gave advice on getting started etc. I offered to do a Zoom where I'll go through some of the main things I think holds people back when getting started, and how...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Thanks will look.

Yes fear is the nr1 reason I am considering a degree.
My biggest strenght and weakness is the abolity to overanalyse everything. So it gives an element of stress which I can solve by 1, getting a bunch of secure money, 2 get a degree.

reason nr2 is that I am growing at a breakneck pace and a business degree might help when I expand to other countries or have 100+ staff.

Reason nr3 is that I LOVE to analyse things and solve problems. And I would absolutley love haveing a profession where my job would be so analyse. So with natural talent, experience and degree, I would more likley than not end up somewhere where this is my job if the business were to fail.
However, a business degree from a world renown, top european university would qualify you for bigger opportunities. Atleast in theory but I have learned that the real world is way different.

 

[Andy Black]

Thanks will look.

Yes fear is the nr1 reason I am considering a degree.
My biggest strenght and weakness is the abolity to overanalyse everything. So it gives an element of stress which I can solve by 1, getting a bunch of secure money, 2 get a degree.

reason nr2 is that I am growing at a breakneck pace and a business degree might help when I expand to other countries or have 100+ staff.

Reason nr3 is that I LOVE to analyse things and solve problems. And I would absolutley love haveing a profession where my job would be so analyse. So with natural talent, experience and degree, I would more likley than not end up somewhere where this is my job if the business were to fail.
However, a business degree from a world renown, top european university would qualify you for bigger opportunities. Atleast in theory but I have learned that the real world is way different.

Seems you're doing things for the wrong reasons? Like you don't think you're "enough"?

I'll link directly to the 8 minute video in the thread I linked to earlier.

Let me know what you think:

View: https://youtu.be/Hy1shfNiy1k

 

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[David4431]

I got a business degree and one of my reasons for doing so was to have a backup plan. Since you mentioned that this was one of your reasons for considering it as well, I thought I'd share what I have discovered since attending business school and also afterwards. Your situation is that you have free time because you do not want to aggressively expand your business at the current moment - you want to take a pause and let your business mature as you put it while you wait for the economic environment to improve. In the meantime, you want to do something productive with the free time that you have - hence the idea of pursuing a business degree.

What I hear you saying that you want:
1. You want to have a backup plan / safety net to fall back on if your business does not work out. In your mind this can take the form of a large bank account balance or an advanced degree (medicine or business). You are worried that if business does not work out, you don't have any employable skills that you can fall back on to get you a good job afterwards. If your business does not work out, you want the option to pursue an interesting business career where you do some kind of business analysis work.
2. You want to be able to better operate your business by using knowledge that you gain from pursuing a business degree. Your question is does a business degree help in the real world?

Here is what I think:
#1 - I also pursued a business degree to have a backup plan so I understand where you are coming from. This being said, while a business degree can provide a safety net, it is a little more complicated than this. For the safety net that you are looking for you need to 1) attend a top ranked program and 2) obtain post-degree work experience after you graduate from your program. Business degrees are a dime a dozen so they are not as valuable as they may have once been. For that safety net that you are looking for, you will need some actual experience working for the companies / in the industries where you want your safety net to be. So that if your business does not work out, people from that industry will still consider you because you already have experience there. But there are no guarantees. If you simply get the degree but don't get any work experience to complement it, I don't think your degree will provide much of a safety net. Also, the value of the degree decreases over time the further out you are from when you graduated.

Between a medical degree or a business degree, I think a medical degree provides a better safety net than a business degree. You'll have much more specialized knowledge that is more valuable and employable. The problem as you mentioned is that you are not sure you can actually obtain a medical degree.

#2 - I don't think a business degree is necessary to be successful in business, especially if you are running a small business. Nothing really beats actually business experience. This being said, there is at least one area of business that a business degree helps a lot in and is probably essential for - this is in the field of financial modeling (related to accounting and corporate finance). This is pretty specialized knowledge, however, and you only really need this if you are doing something in investment banking, private equity, hedge funds or you're buying and selling businesses. But this is pretty niche knowledge and not necessary for most business situations. In general, I think a business degree helps develop your high level view of how a business operates and gives you a taste of the different business functions at a corporate level. But in all honesty, this knowledge is not absolutely necessary for a small business owner and you can probably pick up a lot of this from self study.

The other benefit of attending business school is the networking you get from it. This is generally more valuable if you are climbing the corporate ladder, however. Being able to reach out to other alums in target companies that you want to work for is pretty valuable. But I think it's less valuable for small business owners like us. You can go to conferences, etc. and make a lot of valuable connections without attending business school. But this being said, my network has helped me once or twice along the way with my ecommerce business. But there were classmates who ignored me when I reached out as well so it's kind of a mixed bag.

 

[Kokaka]

Seems you're doing things for the wrong reasons? Like you don't think you're "enough"?

I'll link directly to the 8 minute video in the thread I linked to earlier.

Let me know what you think:

View: https://youtu.be/Hy1shfNiy1k

Really liked the video. Didnt blink once .
Edit: I didnt know it was you. You seem like a cool dude

However, my mentality does fall into all of the above.
Problem is that I have both chronophobia (the phobia of time) aswell as being an ex military where we are thought there are no wasted time.
Now I have alot of time and have started to get comfortable. I don't like being comfortable at all. Gives alot of time to ovetrhink and as the video described "solve problems you dont have".
So now I just sit at home with my one year old child and am thinking "There are more hours in the day. I should do more". Thats why a degree might give me something to do aswell as still my thoughts. Also because I have sacrafised alot to get into Uni so I dont want that go to waste. On a sidenote. If things did not pan out the ways it did. I would not be in business to begin with.
Also both medicine and business will have synergy with what I am doing. However, I might spend years preparing again for "problems I dont have".

I also made some great sales and in between this and last post so now the coffers are nice aswell as some business oportunities have arrived. Both in EU and abroad.
So if I was to be realistic. The way things would turn out. I would study a semester, then be busy and go back and be an entrepreneur and all this thoughs would come back again and I have gained 1 semester.

I got a business degree and one of my reasons for doing so was to have a backup plan. Since you mentioned that this was one of your reasons for considering it as well, I thought I'd share what I have discovered since attending business school and also afterwards. Your situation is that you have free time because you do not want to aggressively expand your business at the current moment - you want to take a pause and let your business mature as you put it while you wait for the economic environment to improve. In the meantime, you want to do something productive with the free time that you have - hence the idea of pursuing a business degree.

What I hear you saying that you want:
1. You want to have a backup plan / safety net to fall back on if your business does not work out. In your mind this can take the form of a large bank account balance or an advanced degree (medicine or business). You are worried that if business does not work out, you don't have any employable skills that you can fall back on to get you a good job afterwards. If your business does not work out, you want the option to pursue an interesting business career where you do some kind of business analysis work.
2. You want to be able to better operate your business by using knowledge that you gain from pursuing a business degree. Your question is does a business degree help in the real world?

Here is what I think:
#1 - I also pursued a business degree to have a backup plan so I understand where you are coming from. This being said, while a business degree can provide a safety net, it is a little more complicated than this. For the safety net that you are looking for you need to 1) attend a top ranked program and 2) obtain post-degree work experience after you graduate from your program. Business degrees are a dime a dozen so they are not as valuable as they may have once been. For that safety net that you are looking for, you will need some actual experience working for the companies / in the industries where you want your safety net to be. So that if your business does not work out, people from that industry will still consider you because you already have experience there. But there are no guarantees. If you simply get the degree but don't get any work experience to complement it, I don't think your degree will provide much of a safety net. Also, the value of the degree decreases over time the further out you are from when you graduated.

Between a medical degree or a business degree, I think a medical degree provides a better safety net than a business degree. You'll have much more specialized knowledge that is more valuable and employable. The problem as you mentioned is that you are not sure you can actually obtain a medical degree.

#2 - I don't think a business degree is necessary to be successful in business, especially if you are running a small business. Nothing really beats actually business experience. This being said, there is at least one area of business that a business degree helps a lot in and is probably essential for - this is in the field of financial modeling (related to accounting and corporate finance). This is pretty specialized knowledge, however, and you only really need this if you are doing something in investment banking, private equity, hedge funds or you're buying and selling businesses. But this is pretty niche knowledge and not necessary for most business situations. In general, I think a business degree helps develop your high level view of how a business operates and gives you a taste of the different business functions at a corporate level. But in all honesty, this knowledge is not absolutely necessary for a small business owner and you can probably pick up a lot of this from self study.

The other benefit of attending business school is the networking you get from it. This is generally more valuable if you are climbing the corporate ladder, however. Being able to reach out to other alums in target companies that you want to work for is pretty valuable. But I think it's less valuable for small business owners like us. You can go to conferences, etc. and make a lot of valuable connections without attending business school. But this being said, my network has helped me once or twice along the way with my ecommerce business. But there were classmates who ignored me when I reached out as well so it's kind of a mixed bag.

This is a nice summary and I like how you breakdown what you have found:

1# Yes this has been my observation aswell regards to business. I can attend a top 5 business school in the world and for free (uni is free where I live).
I would not mind being in finance but I am more an entrepreneur. Building, running, selling, buying, merging businesses is what I love to do and what I want to become good at. Now luckely I know science and medicine good enough to get entry to this field which has been golden. Which is why my doubt of studying anything other than STEM.
I will never forget a little less that 3 years ago when I took a gamle to travel for my first business meeting when everything started:

GOLD! - EXECUTION - Building a Beauty Empire. From 0 to 180k profit in 8 month and beyond

Hi all. So this year has been a ride and Im thinking about writing a progress blogg to get input but also to organise my days. Maybe I will get some good advice and maybe others can get some ideas. This all started in june last year with my first business which was a beauty clinic where we...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

I was picked up by an Uber on the way to the business meeting and talked to the chafeur, he told me he was an MBA. 3 month later, I had my first 100k in sales with 30k net profit and I didnt even have a landing page.
This image is burned into my retina and one of the reason for this forum post.
Logic dictate that a business degree is worth pursuing but I find it hard to make a case for it. Even for a top 5, free uni in the world. I would love to be proven wrong since I would love to go because I love business creativity with a passion. But I dont want to waste 3 years + what I have studied before to be able to enter the uni to drive an Uber.
This Uni does however offer coarses. You have to pay for them but the are tax deductable. And I have started to fill my holding company with some cash so theese are an alternative as @WJK suggested.

But on another question. Is business a wasted course in comparison to STEM?

 

[Andy Black]

Really liked the video. Didnt blink once .
Edit: I didnt know it was you. You seem like a cool dude

Yeah, I'm not as grumpy as my avatar.

 

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[mikecarlooch]

Here's an interesting take on this - Peter Thiel runs a program called Thiel Fellowship that gives entrepreneurs $100,000 to drop out of school and work on ideas. I think that should tell us all something about business classes if a billionaire is talking about how entrepreneurs should be building instead of sitting in a classroom.

 

[Kokaka]

Here's an interesting take on this - Peter Thiel runs a program called Thiel Fellowship that gives entrepreneurs $100,000 to drop out of school and work on ideas. I think that should tell us all something about business classes if a billionaire is talking about how entrepreneurs should be building instead of sitting in a classroom.

yes I agree 100%. But when it comes to my sutiation. I did the other way around. I built first and then am thinking of taking classes.
But because the business is still in its infancy, even though the outlook looks good. There is still a risk of failing which does not sit well with me. However, the last couple of days I have been thinking more "play to win" and not "play to not fail".

 

[Kokaka]

Yeah, I'm not as grumpy as my avatar.

Yeah I know for a fact you Irish might have a rough exteriour but are great on the inside

 

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[Andy Black]

Yeah I know for a fact you Irish might have a rough exteriour but are great on the inside

Erm. I'm an Englishman living in Ireland. I must change wherever it says I live in Ireland...

 

[Kokaka]

Erm. I'm an Englishman living in Ireland. I must change wherever it says I live in Ireland...

Well you Brits are a decent bunch aswell. Even though I can't understand what half of you says half of the time

 

[WJK]

Really liked the video. Didnt blink once .
Edit: I didnt know it was you. You seem like a cool dude

However, my mentality does fall into all of the above.
Problem is that I have both chronophobia (the phobia of time) aswell as being an ex military where we are thought there are no wasted time.
Now I have alot of time and have started to get comfortable. I don't like being comfortable at all. Gives alot of time to ovetrhink and as the video described "solve problems you dont have".
So now I just sit at home with my one year old child and am thinking "There are more hours in the day. I should do more". Thats why a degree might give me something to do aswell as still my thoughts. Also because I have sacrafised alot to get into Uni so I dont want that go to waste. On a sidenote. If things did not pan out the ways it did. I would not be in business to begin with.
Also both medicine and business will have synergy with what I am doing. However, I might spend years preparing again for "problems I dont have".

I also made some great sales and in between this and last post so now the coffers are nice aswell as some business oportunities have arrived. Both in EU and abroad.
So if I was to be realistic. The way things would turn out. I would study a semester, then be busy and go back and be an entrepreneur and all this thoughs would come back again and I have gained 1 semester.



This is a nice summary and I like how you breakdown what you have found:

1# Yes this has been my observation aswell regards to business. I can attend a top 5 business school in the world and for free (uni is free where I live).
I would not mind being in finance but I am more an entrepreneur. Building, running, selling, buying, merging businesses is what I love to do and what I want to become good at. Now luckely I know science and medicine good enough to get entry to this field which has been golden. Which is why my doubt of studying anything other than STEM.
I will never forget a little less that 3 years ago when I took a gamle to travel for my first business meeting when everything started:

GOLD! - EXECUTION - Building a Beauty Empire. From 0 to 180k profit in 8 month and beyond

Hi all. So this year has been a ride and Im thinking about writing a progress blogg to get input but also to organise my days. Maybe I will get some good advice and maybe others can get some ideas. This all started in june last year with my first business which was a beauty clinic where we...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

I was picked up by an Uber on the way to the business meeting and talked to the chafeur, he told me he was an MBA. 3 month later, I had my first 100k in sales with 30k net profit and I didnt even have a landing page.
This image is burned into my retina and one of the reason for this forum post.
Logic dictate that a business degree is worth pursuing but I find it hard to make a case for it. Even for a top 5, free uni in the world. I would love to be proven wrong since I would love to go because I love business creativity with a passion. But I dont want to waste 3 years + what I have studied before to be able to enter the uni to drive an Uber.
This Uni does however offer coarses. You have to pay for them but the are tax deductable. And I have started to fill my holding company with some cash so theese are an alternative as @WJK suggested.

But on another question. Is business a wasted course in comparison to STEM?

STEM is a whole family of businesses. Someone is gonna make the $ off of all those geeks in their different fields. Business is who pays the bills and directs the workforce. You wanna own your path and direct the people around you.

 

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[Kokaka]

STEM is a whole family of businesses. Someone is gonna make the $ off of all those geeks in their different fields. Business is who pays the bills and directs the workforce. You wanna own your path and direct the people around you.

Yes and no. I have found STEM gives you the foundation to construct a business around. Like somene with a medicine degree that wants to do business would be better of, in general than a businessman trying to enter medicine.
It gives you knowledge which you would normaly not get.
Like Im a little over 30% of medshool done. However I have 2 specialist doctors working for me who have each studied 15+ years. I would not be able to do what I do today were it not for medschool. I know enough basic stuff to make a profit out of this.

However. There might be more, advanced opportunities waiting around the corner with the right knowledge (Higher ENTRY barrier)
Like the other day. I read about a company that develop AI technology to identify sepsis at the intensive care unit. Got a few hundreds of millions in investment. It likes give you a framework to build a product or service around.

Then again, I have a friend who does research in heart X-rays and have developed a product which identify blood cloth in the coronary arteries of the heart. However they need someone who can lift this and make it public.

What I try to do is bridge the gap between geekiness and business with this conundrum. Aswell as having the above criterias coverd.

 

[David4431]

This is a nice summary and I like how you breakdown what you have found:

1# Yes this has been my observation aswell regards to business. I can attend a top 5 business school in the world and for free (uni is free where I live).
I would not mind being in finance but I am more an entrepreneur. Building, running, selling, buying, merging businesses is what I love to do and what I want to become good at. Now luckely I know science and medicine good enough to get entry to this field which has been golden. Which is why my doubt of studying anything other than STEM.
I will never forget a little less that 3 years ago when I took a gamle to travel for my first business meeting when everything started:

GOLD! - EXECUTION - Building a Beauty Empire. From 0 to 180k profit in 8 month and beyond

Hi all. So this year has been a ride and Im thinking about writing a progress blogg to get input but also to organise my days. Maybe I will get some good advice and maybe others can get some ideas. This all started in june last year with my first business which was a beauty clinic where we...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

I was picked up by an Uber on the way to the business meeting and talked to the chafeur, he told me he was an MBA. 3 month later, I had my first 100k in sales with 30k net profit and I didnt even have a landing page.
This image is burned into my retina and one of the reason for this forum post.
Logic dictate that a business degree is worth pursuing but I find it hard to make a case for it. Even for a top 5, free uni in the world. I would love to be proven wrong since I would love to go because I love business creativity with a passion. But I dont want to waste 3 years + what I have studied before to be able to enter the uni to drive an Uber.
This Uni does however offer coarses. You have to pay for them but the are tax deductable. And I have started to fill my holding company with some cash so theese are an alternative as @WJK suggested.

But on another question. Is business a wasted course in comparison to STEM?

There is value in an MBA / business courses but it all depends on what you study and what your goals are for it. If your goal isn't to work in finance, it probably won't be as valuable to you. As I said before, I don't think it's a requirement for small business owners like us and you can self study a lot of it on your own if you really want (outside of the very quantitative subjects). I think @WJK 's suggestion to do a personal course of study is a good one.

And just like you'll find unsuccessful people who studied STEM, you'll find unsuccessful people who studied business. This really isn't surprising and you shouldn't expect an MBA to be some golden ticket to a good life.

Lastly, I know this is going to be controversial in this forum but if you get the opportunity to attend a top 5 business school (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago Booth or MIT) in their fulltime MBA program, I would advise you to seriously consider it. This is less for the education value they provide and more for the networking opportunities and the doors that they open.

 

[Kokaka]

There is value in an MBA / business courses but it all depends on what you study and what your goals are for it. If your goal isn't to work in finance, it probably won't be as valuable to you. As I said before, I don't think it's a requirement for small business owners like us and you can self study a lot of it on your own if you really want (outside of the very quantitative subjects). I think @WJK 's suggestion to do a personal course of study is a good one.

And just like you'll find unsuccessful people who studied STEM, you'll find unsuccessful people who studied business. This really isn't surprising and you shouldn't expect an MBA to be some golden ticket to a good life.

Lastly, I know this is going to be controversial in this forum but if you get the opportunity to attend a top 5 business school (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago Booth or MIT) in their fulltime MBA program, I would advise you to seriously consider it. This is less for the education value they provide and more for the networking opportunities and the doors that they open.

Yeah my main goal is be creative in business since I love that. Medicine is more a lever for business since I love the medical beauty area.
However. I would more enjoy being a creative entrepreneur than a doctor, even though I would enjoy that aswell.

Yes this laat one is what really mess with my mind. Like the things they theach is nothing magical. Its everything around. Networking, contacts etc. The dominoes will start to fall.
If there was any other business school. I would not consider this.

Also my goal is not to be a small business owner. Its to be a big one with atleast 500+ employees with my current business. (Have 8 so far and will hire 2-3 more in the following weeks).

So its a golden oppurtunity. Like I cant at all complain at all from neither business or educational and thats the problem. Too many good oppurtunities is presented.

And I have alot of talwnt in business but less in medicine.
Like what Jordan Peterson suggest.
Try to find the area where you are in the top 25%.
I THINK i would be that in business.
I am the bottom 25% in medicine but I can probably figure out how to solve this with time.

Just curious. If you were in my shoes. Would you take the business uni and if so. Why?

Edit: the MBA cones later. The uni offer 2 programs:
Business and economics, and Retail Management.

Business and economics is more hedgefund/banking wheras Retail caters to anything being sold to a customer.
For me, the latter is way more interesting.

Bith give you a minor in economy and business.

 

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[WJK]

Yeah my main goal is be creative in business since I love that. Medicine is more a lever for business since I love the medical beauty area.
However. I would more enjoy being a creative entrepreneur than a doctor, even though I would enjoy that aswell.

Yes this laat one is what really mess with my mind. Like the things they theach is nothing magical. Its everything around. Networking, contacts etc. The dominoes will start to fall.
If there was any other business school. I would not consider this.

Also my goal is not to be a small business owner. Its to be a big one with atleast 500+ employees with my current business. (Have 8 so far and will hire 2-3 more in the following weeks).

So its a golden oppurtunity. Like I cant at all complain at all from neither business or educational and thats the problem. Too many good oppurtunities is presented.

And I have alot of talwnt in business but less in medicine.
Like what Jordan Peterson suggest.
Try to find the area where you are in the top 25%.
I THINK i would be that in business.
I am the bottom 25% in medicine but I can probably figure out how to solve this with time.

Just curious. If you were in my shoes. Would you take the business uni and if so. Why?

Edit: the MBA cones later. The uni offer 2 programs:
Business and economics, and Retail Management.

Business and economics is more hedgefund/banking wheras Retail caters to anything being sold to a customer.
For me, the latter is way more interesting.

Bith give you a minor in economy and business.

When I was in law school, I quickly discovered I didn't want to be an attorney. I was under so much social pressure I had very good offers because of my RE background. I was in my early 40s and resisting those offers with the stubborn mule in me. I was seeing a therapist who specialized in over-achievers. He didn't say a lot. He mostly listened. He told me one day, "It's your education. You can do whatever you want with it." I was so relieved to think that I could just do what I wanted and ignore everyone around me. I use that education all the time in my businesses. But, I never used it the way they intended.

I disagree. You don't have to be in the top 25%. You just have to be slightly better and more determined than the people around you. Whether you win by an inch or mile doesn't change the fact that you have won. A series of small wins add up to a big leap ahead.

As far as the classes from the Ivy League. They are all online. And you can buy case studies books from those Universities. It doesn't matter how you get the education itself. Doing the networking is more challenging, but it can be done too. You already have a system of doctors who have studied for years. They can be your gateway.

FYI - 2 of my 4 college degrees are in merchandising -- heavy on the marketing part of it. I've used those very well too. I started in retail store management and buying for a retail department store. I ditched that too and went into RE sales. They had to pay me like a man during a time when women made a fraction of the money that men. made. That was only 47 years ago...

 

[BizyDad]

Really liked the video. Didnt blink once .
Edit: I didnt know it was you. You seem like a cool dude

However, my mentality does fall into all of the above.
Problem is that I have both chronophobia (the phobia of time) aswell as being an ex military where we are thought there are no wasted time.
Now I have alot of time and have started to get comfortable. I don't like being comfortable at all. Gives alot of time to ovetrhink and as the video described "solve problems you dont have".
So now I just sit at home with my one year old child and am thinking "There are more hours in the day. I should do more". Thats why a degree might give me something to do aswell as still my thoughts. Also because I have sacrafised alot to get into Uni so I dont want that go to waste. On a sidenote. If things did not pan out the ways it did. I would not be in business to begin with.
Also both medicine and business will have synergy with what I am doing. However, I might spend years preparing again for "problems I dont have".

I also made some great sales and in between this and last post so now the coffers are nice aswell as some business oportunities have arrived. Both in EU and abroad.
So if I was to be realistic. The way things would turn out. I would study a semester, then be busy and go back and be an entrepreneur and all this thoughs would come back again and I have gained 1 semester.



This is a nice summary and I like how you breakdown what you have found:

1# Yes this has been my observation aswell regards to business. I can attend a top 5 business school in the world and for free (uni is free where I live).
I would not mind being in finance but I am more an entrepreneur. Building, running, selling, buying, merging businesses is what I love to do and what I want to become good at. Now luckely I know science and medicine good enough to get entry to this field which has been golden. Which is why my doubt of studying anything other than STEM.
I will never forget a little less that 3 years ago when I took a gamle to travel for my first business meeting when everything started:

GOLD! - EXECUTION - Building a Beauty Empire. From 0 to 180k profit in 8 month and beyond

Hi all. So this year has been a ride and Im thinking about writing a progress blogg to get input but also to organise my days. Maybe I will get some good advice and maybe others can get some ideas. This all started in june last year with my first business which was a beauty clinic where we...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

I was picked up by an Uber on the way to the business meeting and talked to the chafeur, he told me he was an MBA. 3 month later, I had my first 100k in sales with 30k net profit and I didnt even have a landing page.
This image is burned into my retina and one of the reason for this forum post.
Logic dictate that a business degree is worth pursuing but I find it hard to make a case for it. Even for a top 5, free uni in the world. I would love to be proven wrong since I would love to go because I love business creativity with a passion. But I dont want to waste 3 years + what I have studied before to be able to enter the uni to drive an Uber.
This Uni does however offer coarses. You have to pay for them but the are tax deductable. And I have started to fill my holding company with some cash so theese are an alternative as @WJK suggested.

But on another question. Is business a wasted course in comparison to STEM?

yes I agree 100%. But when it comes to my sutiation. I did the other way around. I built first and then am thinking of taking classes.
But because the business is still in its infancy, even though the outlook looks good. There is still a risk of failing which does not sit well with me. However, the last couple of days I have been thinking more "play to win" and not "play to not fail".

Sounds like somebody needs to start a new business to fall back on in case his main business goes under...

 

[David4431]

Just curious. If you were in my shoes. Would you take the business uni and if so. Why?

Edit: the MBA cones later. The uni offer 2 programs:
Business and economics, and Retail Management.

Business and economics is more hedgefund/banking wheras Retail caters to anything being sold to a customer.
For me, the latter is way more interesting.

Bith give you a minor in economy and business.

I was under the impression that you were considering an MBA program since you gave the example of the MBA Uber driver making you question the value of the degree. I unfortunately can't really speak to undergrad or Uni (as you call it over there) business programs since I did not attend one. I personally didn't develop an interest in business / finance until I was halfway through my undergrad studies so I never considered undergrad / Uni business programs.

My suggestion is that you talk to alums from the school that you are considering to get a better idea of what the future might look like if you attended. Do your due diligence to figure out what makes sense for you.

 

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